Political Gumbo: Chief Concerns

Barring an emergency, last night was the last scheduled City Council meeting of the year.

It seemed like most of the calls were about church property and housing. The mayor and the City Manager have already said the issue is due to come up soon, so not sure why the callers keep bringing it up.

Trust me nobody has forgotten.

Respect to Interim City Manager Cynthia Kurtz for committing to only hiring interim department heads during her time at the head of the table.

I do agree the permanent CM should make the permanent hires, especially the police chief.

Without a doubt, the top cop is the most important hire a city manager can make.

Although I don’t work under the dome, I will offer my learnèd perspective.

The way I see it, choosing Kurtz was a wise move by the council as the city was losing a massive amount of institutional knowledge to retirements and resignations under the dome.

The same could be applied to the police department which is not just losing Chief John Perez, who has done as much for community policing as anybody else, especially when it comes to transparency.

Lt. Jason Clawson and other valuable assets will also soon leave the police department.

With that in mind, now may not be the time for an outsider to lead the cop shop, on an interim basis or permanent basis, especially when you consider a new CM is on the way.

Yes, it has happened before with Michael Beck and Chief Sanchez.

So, from my learnèd perspective Cheryl Moody should be the interim police chief. These days that perspective and a buck fifty won’t get you much, but there you have it — and no I’m not passing out the buck fifty.

So, do with it what you will.

In the end it’s not my choice to make, and I do agree with the City Council on giving Kurtz the flexibility she needs to make the choice.

As far as the people screaming for an outsider to take over the top spot, be careful what you wish for.

Outside police chiefs are not like packages from Amazon Prime. You may not get what you expect upon delivery.

It takes time for the various parts of the community, the City Manager and other members of the police department to get a newcomer up to speed.

Locally, an outside chief has to learn to function in City Hall, the local churches, in Northwest Pasadena, with all of the various nonprofits and yes, with the press.

At some point every police chief I have worked with – Bernard Melekian, Phillip Sanchez and Perez along with interim chief Chris Vicino – has not been happy with the press.

That’s when the commitment to transparency and accountability kicks in on both sides. Neither side has time for pouting and hurt feelings.

The Police Chief has to have that same attitude with local activists, while ignoring the instigators – and yes we have those too.

Not to mention, the new chief will have to connect with a new boss in the City Manager and the various council members and lead the police department at the same time.

And even after all of that, the inevitable police shooting or spike in violence will happen and then the real test begins amid the complaints, questions and grieving.

No outsider is going to walk into town understanding all of those moving parts. Yes, it’s possible to get up to speed.

Like I said before, the choice is not mine to make.

But, unfortunately if the wrong choice is made, it will be all of our burden to bear.